StockNews.com Initiates Coverage on Hess (NYSE:HES)

Analysts at StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Hess (NYSE:HES) in a research report issued on Wednesday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on HES. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Hess from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Pickering Energy Partners upgraded Hess to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.60.

Hess Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE HES opened at $159.10 on Wednesday. Hess has a 1-year low of $123.79 and a 1-year high of $163.98. The company has a 50-day moving average of $147.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $141.58. The company has a market cap of $49.05 billion, a PE ratio of 17.68 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Hess (NYSE:HES) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Hess will post 8.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new position in shares of Hess during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Hess during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Groupama Asset Managment increased its stake in Hess by 22.7% during the 3rd quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 22,606 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 4,186 shares during the period. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Hess in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hess during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hess Company Profile

Hess Corporation, an exploration and production company, explores, develops, produces, purchases, transports, and sells crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and natural gas. The company operates in two segments, Exploration and Production, and Midstream. It conducts production operations primarily in the United States, Guyana, the Malaysia/Thailand Joint Development Area, and Malaysia; and exploration activities principally offshore Guyana, the U.S.